Coupler for pneumatic-organs



.(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 M. CLARK. COUPLER FOR PNEUMATIC ORGANS.

No; 606,444. Patented June- 28, 1898.

.Znverzfor.

(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

M CLARK v COUPLER FOR PNEUMATIC ORGANS.

No 6 ,444. Patented June 28, 1898.

N WN UNTTED STATES PATENT Centers.

MELVILLE' CLARK, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

COUPLER FOR PNEUMATIC ORGANS.

. SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 606,444, dated June28, 1898.

Application filed July 30, 1897.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, MELVILLE CLARK, a citizen of the United States,residing at Chicago, county of Cook, and State of Illinois, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Couplers for-Pneumatic-Organs, which are fully set forth in the followingspecification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forminga part thereof.

The purpose of this invention is to provide improved means for couplingoctaves in pneumatically-operated reed-organs or other musicalinstruments whose sound-controllin g devices are pneumatically actuated.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a fore-and-aft section through a reed-organhaving my improvement, one reed-valve and its operating mechanism,including thefpneumatics and the manual-key connections, being shown.Fig. 2 is a detailed plan of the same structure in which the part-s offour octaves of the primary pneumatics and coupling connections areshown. Fig. 8 is a detail elevation of a portion of the actioncorresponding to that shown in Fig. 1, illustrating a modified form ofstop connections for operating the coupling-board. Fig. 4 is a detailelevation at the end of the coupling-board, showing a furthermodification of the coupling mechanism. Fig. 5 is a detail plan of theconstruction illustrated in Fig. 4E.

The general structure of the organ herein illustrated is that which Ihave used heretofore and which is shown in several patents heretoforegranted to me.

A is the wind-chest; B, a reed-block; C, the reed-controlling valve; D,the motor-pneumatic or reed-valve-actuating pneumatic; E, the primarypneumatic, whose'function is, by means of the valves E and E mounted ona common stem carried by said pneumatic, to control the communication ofthe motor-pneumatic with the wind-chest and with the outer air, andthereby cause the action of said motor-pneumatic to actuate thereed-valve.

F is a duct leading from the primary pneumatic to a post j in board J,which is controlled by valve g on the lever G, which is provided with aspring G, tending to hold the valve 9 seated. The lever G is actuated bythe pitman H on a manual-key H. It will Serial No. 646,475. (No model.)

be understood that the depression of the manual-key lifting the valve gand venting the primary pneumatic will cause the latter to be inflatedand to close the communication of the motor-pneumatic with the outer airand open communication with the wind-chest, thus causing saidmotor-pneumatic to be collapsed and to actuate the reed-valve C by meansof the connecting-tape c. The dnctf, of which the tube F is acontinuation and through which the primary pneumatic is vented, has abranch F, which may lead to a tracker-range, (not shown,) Where it maybe controlled by a perforated music-sheet (not shown) for the purpose ofventing the primary pneumatic and operating the instrumentautomatically; These self-playing appurtenances arenot illustrated,because their action, so far as the presentv invention is concerned, isprecisely equivalent to that caused by the depression of the manual-key,and it may be understood'that the coupler devices which constitutetheinvention and which will now be described perform their function inprecisely similar manner whether the instrument is operated by themanual or by the self-playing appurtenances.

For the purpose of coupling octaves I mount upon the upper side of theboard X, upon the lower side of which the motor-pneumaties D aremounted, the coupler-board L, in which are formed ducts Z Z, &c., whichopen at the upper surface of the board and at the rear edge thereof, theopenings at the upper surface being closed by valves M M M, &c., whichare located in position above the motor-pneumatics, respectively, whichhave projecting fingers M M, &e., which overhang the fingers D D, whichproject up rigidly from the lower onfluctuating walls of the pneumatics.Tubes N N, &c., connect the rear ends of the ducts Z Zwith the octavedistant primary pneumatics, respectively. The tubes N N, &c., areflexible and should be made with a slight excess of length to allow forsome movement of the board L. The board L may be mounted eitherpivotally at its rear edge and adapted to tilt up at its forward edge tocarry the valve-fingers M out of range of the upward thrust of themotor-pneumatic fingers D, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, or it may bearranged to slide longitudinally on the board X to carry thevalvefingers laterally out of range of the pneumatic fingersrespectively. Suitable mechanical connections from a stop-rod P to theboard L will effect the shifting of the board from one position to theother. In case the board is pivoted the connection may be that shown inFig. 1, which consists of a bellcrank lever Q, having one arm connectedwith the stop-rod and the other arm connected by link Q with the boardL. If the couplingboard is arranged to slide instead of tilt, I providefor the purpose a vertical rockshaft S, which may have a lever-arm S atthe lower end connected to the stop-rod M and the lever-arm S at theupper end arranged to engage the board L. iVith this structure it willbe understood that when any motor-pneumatic is operated and causes thecorresponding sound-producin g device to speak the action of suchmotor-pneumatic opening the valve M vents the octave distant primarypneumatic,whereby the motor-pneumatic corresponding to the latter isalso operated and causes its sound-producing. de vice to speak, thuscoupling the octaves.

For the purpose of coupling the range of the instrument is preferablydivided into an upper and a lower half, so that above the division-pointthe coupling may be made upward and below that point it may be madedownward. The con pling-board is preferably divided at the correspondingpoint and the two sections operated by separate stops, the connectionsbeing precisely the same in the two cases; but the tubes M on theright-hand or upper board will diverge upwardly from the divisionalplane to the octave distant primarypneumatics, and the tubes on thelower or left-hand board will diverge downwardly to the octave distantprimary pneumatics.

I claim 1. In a pneumatically-operated musical instrument, incombination with the motorpueumatics and the primary pneumaties whichoperate them, vent-valves for the primary pneumatics respectively, andmechanical connections by which the motor-pneumatics may actuate thevent-valves ot' the octave distant primary pneumatics respectively.

2. In a pneumatically-operated n'lusical instrument, in combination withthe motorpneumatics and primary pneumatics which operate them;vent-valves for the primary pneumatics respectively; movable mechanicalconnections by which the motor-pneumatics may actuate the vent-valves ofthe octave distant primary pneumatics, and means for moving the sameinto and out of movement-communicating position.

3. In a pneumatically-operated musical in struinent, in combination withthe 1n.oter pneumatics and the primary pncumatics which operate themrespectively; ducts leading from the primary pneumatics and. valveswhich control such ducts located proximate to the octave distantmotor-pneumaties respectively; and mechanical connections by which themotor-pneumatics act upon such proximate primary pneumatic valves tocause their respective sound-producing devices to speak.

4. In a pnenmatically-operatcd musical instrument, in combination withthe motorpneumatics and the primary pneumatics which operate them; acoupler-board and ducts leading from the primary pneumatics respectivelyto such board; valves on the board which control the ducts rcspectivel ylo cated proximate to the motor-pneumatlcs which are an octave distantfrom the primary pneumatics from which the ducts respec tively lead;abutments extending from the motor-pneumatics and adapted to encountertheir proximate valves respectively, the board bein g movable to carrysuch valves into and out of the range of the motonpneumatie abutmentsrespectively.

Chicago, July 23, 1897.

MEINILIJE CLARK.

IVitn esses:

CuAs. S. BURTON, E. 'l. IVRAY.

